Rail freight activity in Britain has increased by almost 50% in the last ten years, with the movement of deep sea ISO containers between ports and inland terminals being a significant growth sector, with considerable further growth potential. High cube (9’6” height) ISO containers have become more prevalent, posing a considerable challenge for rail freight operators since much of the rail netwo...

This paper addresses scheduling problems on the material handling operation at marine container-yard terminals. The layout, removal order and removal distination of containers are simultaneously optimized in order to reduce the waiting time for a vessel. The schedule of container-movements is derived by autonomous learning method based on a new learning model considering container-groups and co...

Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Ae. japonicus (Theobald) are important container-inhabiting mosquitoes that transmit disease agents, outcompete native species, and continue to expand their range in the United States. Both species deposit eggs in natural and artificial containers and thrive in peridomestic environments. The goal of our study was to examine the types and characteristics of container...

Straw powders were blended with hydrolyzed soy protein isolate (HSPI) modified urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins to produce biodegradable seedling containers. The tensile strength and the degradability of the seedling containers were characterized. Moreover, the degradation behavior of modified UF resins was investigated using N isotopic tracing, dynamic mechanical analysis, C CP/MAS NMR spectrosco...

A laboratory bioassay was investigated for screening insecticides for preventing stand losses by the wireworm Melanotus communis (Gyllenhal) to germinating plant cane. For liquid materials, single-eye billets were dipped into different concentrations of a candidate insecticide and then planted in plastic containers of organic soil; wireworms were then introduced, airtight lids were placed onto ...

Polycarbonate plastics (PC) containing bisphenol A (BPA) are used for production of bottles for water, containers for storage of food products, bottles for feeding infants, kitchen utensils, and some components of medical equipment. Trace amounts of BPA have been detected in water and food products kept in PC containers. It has been established that BPA can be liberated from PC containers and m...